The Velocity Master
by Richard Knight
I survive by speed and pinpoint accuracy; threading a moving needle at 180 miles per hour. To achieve less is to perish into the eternal dust. From my reign high above the earth, nothing escapes my eyes. I hunt in all environments; from dense cities, soaring high above the skyscrapers. I hunt in remote islands where few humans know my name. I slice through the air with ease, while the the other birds plough through it with hardship. I am a product of my design; it makes me who and what I am.
My muscles pump me towards the sun. At 3,000 feet, even the most observant of my prey, will not know I am here. Soaring effortlessly, I am patient. A speck in a vast ocean of blue.
A Green-wing Teal in flight! Far below. It is time; I fold my wings close to my body and plunge. The physics of gravity and velocity are ingrained in every fiber of my being; evolution of form, function and survival. This is the spectacle of nature known as the stoop ( dive ). At the apex of my stoop, I may achieve speeds in excess of 200 miles an hour.
Plummeting faster to my target, I precisely adjust my wings and tail to fine tune my descent. I shall not miss. My strike is solid and lethal. Perfection! Such success are few and far between for myself and all like me. Predators hit their targets roughly 1 in 10 attempts; life is never easy and a kill is never taken for granted.